October 19

The American Revolution effectively ended on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virginia, with a decisive victory over British Army and Naval forces commanded by Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis. Victorious Continental Army troops were led by General George Washington, combined with French troops led by the Comte de Rochambeau. The surrender of Cornwallis, who had been encircled and besieged, caused the British government to negotiate an end to hostilities (starting in 1782). Cornwallis surrendered 7,087 officers and men, 900 seamen, 144 cannons, 15 galleys, a frigate and 30 transport ships. Claiming illness, he did not attend the surrender, where British bands played the song "The World Turned Upside Down." Pictured: “Surrender of Cornwallis” by John Trumbull, U.S. Capitol Rotunda (1820).